A Day In The Life
by Braveatheart1996
Summary: Three one-shots that depict the thoughts of Sonya, Jill and Adrian and three points in time during The Golden Lily. Following the developpement of Sydrian. Please R&R!
1. Sonya

**Hey guys! **

**So, this is my first bloodlines fanfiction, so i decided as opposed to coming up with an entirely new storyline, I'd take three moments from The golden lily and rewrite in someone elses point of view. This first one is from Sonya's POV. Ten reviews to post the next chapter! **

**Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own bloodlines.**

** (p.s. No really, I'm serious about the review thing. Ten reviews!) **

The sun beat down mercilessly on the desert land. Beads of sweat formed on my brow, my body's small attempt at cooling me off. It did no good. I had a strong feeling that I would be sunburnt once again by this evening, but it didn't bother me. To me, it was just a continued sign that I was once again amongst the living, the Moroi. Maybe Mikhail and I could get day jobs, and we could be in the sun all the time. I think I'd like that.

Smiling, I straightened up from the garden that had brought me out into the Palm Springs' heat. When I'd first arrived, I'd been appalled to find the garden in withering condition, fighting a losing battle against the weather. I couldn't have that, not if I was going to be staying in this town for any period of time. With Clarence's permission, I'd immediately set to work on the poor, unkempt garden. Now, nearly a month later, there was a vast improvement on the overall health of the garden. It was my pride and joy. I loved gardening, even without the boost spirit gives me in that field. In fact, I was proud to say, this garden had been made and nurtured without magic. This was good, because I really shouldn't use spirit more than necessary, no matter how tempting it can be.

I gave the garden a once over, making sure it was green and fertile and that all the flowers were blooming. It was perfect, of course. Satisfied, I pulled off my gardening gloves and made my way indoors, breathing a sigh of relief when the cool, air-conditioned air touched my burning skin. I made a quick dash to my room to put everything away, and then made my way back to the living room, grabbing a pop on the way. I'd only just begun to nurse it when Dimitri Belikov walked into the living room, his trench coat sweeping the ground behind him. How he managed to walk around in that thing all the time, I had no idea.

I smiled at the man as he sat down. "Hey, Dimitri." I said. He nodded in response. I took that as an invitation and pressed on, noticing the distinct absence of a certain someone. "I thought you were getting Adrian."

Dimitri's light smile faltered and my heart sunk a little. Uh oh. What did he do this time? "I stopped by his place." He started. "He could barely answer the door. He's been drinking a lot, that much was obvious. I think he might be pushing his limits this time, though." Dimitri sighed, and I echoed it. I worried a lot about Adrian, especially after everything that happened with Rose. His depression was reinforced by spirit, and we both knew it. The thing was, I'd gotten the overall impression that he was healing from everything that happened with Rose. Being away from court helped, I knew, but I think it also had to do with the fact that he had such supportive people in his life at the moment. Eddie, Jill, and especially Sydney had a big role in improving his mood, which made his current situation all the more intriguing, and disappointing.

"Hopefully he'll snap out of it soon." I finally said, breaking the silence. Though Dimitri didn't hold the anger that Adrian held for him, Adrian was still a difficult topic. I got the sense that Dimitri blamed himself entirely for Adrian's moods, and that kind of guilt was hard to overcome, however misplaced it was. "In the meantime, we can take a look at the blood samples. I have a few ideas I want to run past you."

Dimitri nodded, his light mood returning. He stood up to go get the blood samples, and was halfway across the room when the phone rang. He answered.

"Hello?" He gave a small smile at the response on the other end. "Hey, Sydney. No, we're sticking around. No experiments today." He paused and listened to the answer on the other end. "All right. See you soon."

A grin spread across my face as he hung up. "Sydney's coming over?" I asked.

"Yes." He said, also smiling. I knew what he was thinking, because my thoughts ran along the same lines. When I'd first met Sydney, as a Moroi, she'd had a fair bit of difficulty bringing herself to be in the same room as me and the other Moroi who'd been there at the time. I could only imagine what she'd been like when she'd first met Rose, and subsequently, Dimitri. Now, on the other hand, she seemed almost comfortable around Moroi, eating, laughing, and talking with us the same she would as with any human. It went even beyond that, though, which I knew only because I could read her aura. Affection is very easy to spot. It's like light in an aura, making it shine bright. When two people are especially in love, their auras shine so bright I want to shield my eyes. I had seen this in Rose and Dimitri's auras. And Sydney's, no matter what she'd been taught, shone with affection for the group here in Palm Springs. It was a far cry from when she'd first met Moroi.

Dimitri quickly came back with the blood samples, and I pulled myself out of my thoughts to focus. This science project was, without a doubt, the most important thing I'd ever been involved in. After having been a Strigoi myself, there was nothing more vital in my world than a possible protection against Strigoi conversion. It could save countless lives. It could revolutionise the guardian system and the Moroi government. But also… well, on a more personal note, it could prevent spirit users, like myself, for instance, from choosing that path to get away from the magic.

"I've gone over a few ideas on how to proceed from here." I started, huddling over the blood samples Dimitri had set up on the table. "I'd like to apply spirit to your blood, and see if the magic in your blood responds to it." He nodded, encouraging me to go on. "Also, it'd be interesting to get Strigoi blood and see if anything happened when I applied spirit. Do you think you could manage that?"

A fierce glint in Dimitri's eyes told me exactly how difficult that would be for him: not at all. "Gladly." He said.

The noise of footsteps reached my ears, and I looked up, to find Sydney standing in the entrance to the living room. Now, I know that I tended to cheat with people, reading their auras to know their moods, but I didn't need spirit to know that something was definitely off with the alchemist. "What's wrong?"

She didn't seem surprised that I picked up on her mood. Her shoulders slumped slightly and she said "Angeline got into a brawl with a motivational group at school."

For a moment I was utterly shocked. I glanced over at Dimitri, seeing my surprise mirrored on his face. I got the sense that this would be a long story. "Maybe we should go grab some dinner." Dimitri suggested. He got up and grabbed his keys. "Let's go downtown."

I almost laughed at the eagerness in Sydney's eyes. It really was amazing how far she'd progressed in interacting with Moroi and Dhampirs. It was nice to know that at least one alchemist out there had learned to judge people based on who they are, as opposed to what they are.

Once we'd arrived, Sydney explained how Angeline had punched out the guy who'd tried to get her to dance, how she'd proceeded to punching out half the band, her near expulsion and her legal threat on the school. The last part I found to be pretty funny.

"Smart." I noted, twirling my spaghetti on my fork. "Maybe you should be in law school instead of the alchemists." Of course, I knew that was impossible. It was no secret that the Alchemists' job was hereditary. She'd likely known she was going to be an Alchemist from the time she could walk.

Dimitri took a different approach to the situation. "Angeline came here to do a job." He said, a tough note in his voice that was a reminder of the fact that he'd once been an instructor. "She wanted out of the keepers and swore she'd devote every waking minute to protecting Jill."

"There has been a bit of a culture shock," Sydney said. I was surprised that she was suddenly defending Angeline, and I got the sense that she wasn't entirely sure why she was defending her either. "And those guys today… I mean, if they'd tried to get me to join their sing-along, I probably would've punched them too." I chuckled quietly at the mental image of Sydney punching someone. I just couldn't see that actually happening.

"Unacceptable." Dimitri said. "She's here on a mission. What she did was reckless and irresponsible."

Something about that line tickled my fancy, and when I realised what it was, I gave him a sly smile. "And here I thought you had a soft spot for reckless young girls."

"Rose never would've done anything like that." He countered. Then, reconsidering, he added. "Well, at least not in such a public setting." A hint of a smile touched his lips. Yes, that would be like the Rose Hathaway I knew.

After a few more moments of comfortable silence, Sydney brought up a different topic. "So… no experiments today?"

I faltered. Did she know about Adrian's strange mood? "Ah. No, not exactly. We've gone over some notes on our own, but Adrian hasn't been… he hasn't been quite up to the research this week." I noted. We tried to get a hold of him throughout the week with no luck. It's what had prompted Dimitri to go over and check up on him in person. Something else occurred to me, and I added. "Or up to going to class." It's such a shame, too. He's an amazing artist.

Dimitri nodded. "I was over there earlier. He could barely answer the door. No idea what he'd been drinking, but whatever it was, he'd had a lot." If spirit doesn't get him, I thought, Liver failure will.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." Sydney said, suddenly seeming a little nervous. I raised my eyebrows slightly. So, apparently she did know about Adrian's mood. And apparently, she knew more about it than the rest of us. She continued to tear apart the bread roll on her plate. Something was bothering her. "Adrian's current mood isn't entirely his fault." She started. Then, reconsidering, "I mean, it is, but I can kind of understand it. You know he saw his dad this weekend, right?" I did know that. "Well… it didn't go well."

Ah. That makes much more sense. In light of that, actually, I'm thinking that Adrian is handling things pretty well. "I'm not surprised." Dimitri said. "Nathan Ivashkov isn't the easiest man to get along with." Talk about an understatement.

Sydney elaborated. "He sort of tore down everything Adrian's been trying to do. I tried to make a case for Adrian, but Mr. Ivashkov wouldn't listen. That's why I was wondering if you guys could help."

My surprise was so thorough, I wasn't able to hide it. It's not the fact that Adrian's father wouldn't listen. I wasn't even all too shocked that Sydney was addressing them for the issue. What did surprise me was that Sydney was helping him at all. Sure, she was fond of him, just as she was fond of the other Moroi and Dhampirs in the area. But Adrian wasn't her responsibly, technically, and I was pretty sure if the alchemists got wind of this, Sydney would be in some trouble with her superiors. I didn't think she was that fond of him, to be honest.

"I'll gladly help Adrian." I said honestly. "But something tells me Nathan's not going to really put much stock in what we have to say." I pointed out.

"That's not what I was thinking." Sydney said, finally giving up on the roll. "You guys are both close to the queen. Maybe you could get her to tell Adrian's dad how… I don't know. What an asset he's been. How much he's helping. Obviously, she couldn't explain exactly what he's doing, but anything might help. Mr. Ivashkov won't listen to Adrian or anyone else, but he'd have to take a commendation from the queen seriously. If she'd do it."

I have to admit, I was pretty impressed. She was absolutely right, of course, on every note. Nathan would take the Queen's words to heart, no matter how he feels about said Queen. It all ties in to Nathan's carefully nit reputation.

"Oh, she'd do it." Dimitri said, looking thoughtful. "She's always had a soft spot for him. Everyone seems to."

"No." Sydney said stubbornly, and I was again surprised at the emotion she seemed to be displaying for Adrian. "Not everyone. There's a split. Half condemn him and write him off as useless like his dad. The other half just shrug and indulge him and say, 'Well, that's Adrian.'"

Ha, that's funny. I never even noticed it before, but it's absolutely true. Interesting that it would take Sydney to point this out. I studied her carefully, again wondering why she seemed so determined to help Adrian. "And you?" I asked.

There was a glint on her golden-brown eyes I'd never seen before. "I don't think he should be babied or disregarded. If you expect him to do great things, he will."

Finally, the mystery became too much, and I opened myself to spirit, my vision filling with auras. Sydney's aura was yellow, just as I'd expect it to be. There were some other colours there as well, but none were strong enough for me to really take notice. It's not what I was looking for anyways. I mentioned earlier that affection is easy to spot, and it absolutely is. I've always noticed that Sydney lights up a little bit around Adrian and the others.

But now, she wasn't just lighting up a bit. She was shining. Her aura bore a slight resemblance to sunlight as Adrian filled her thoughts, and I nearly did a double take. I knew the beginning signs of love when I saw them. Did she even know? Probably not, I thought, considering how long it took her to simply accept friendship from her vampire cohort. In fact, I'm thinking that it'll be a very long time before she can accept the feelings that are growing within her.

"I'll speak to Lissa." I finally said. "And I'm sure Dimitri will too. In the meantime, let's hope that if we follow your advice and expect Adrian to sober up soon, he will."

We'd just paid the check when Dimitri's cell phone rang. He picked it up and said hello. I knew immediately from the way his aura shone who was on the other end of the line. "No, no. It's always a good time for you to call, Roza." He said. Her response on the other end made him smile.

"Rose." I said to Sydney by way of explanation. I stood up. "Let's give them a little privacy. You want to take a walk?"

"Sure." She said, rising as well. "There's a costume store a few blocks away I actually want to check- if they're still open."

I glance at Dimitri. "Meet us there?" I asked in a whisper. He gave a quick nod. As soon as we were out of earshot of the dhampir, I let out a laugh. "Ah, those two. In a fight, they're lethal. Around each other, they melt."

"Is that how you and Mikhail are?" Sydney asked. It was one of those moments where Sydney's social ineptitude was all too apparent, and I couldn't help but laugh again. I looked up at the sky and the setting sun, revelling in the fact that I could be outside at this time of day without problems. "Not exactly." I said, answering Sydney's question. "Every relationship is different. Everyone loves differently." Which reminds me…

It took me a few moments to find the right words. "That was a nice thing you chose to do for Adrian." I said, making sure my voice didn't imply anything.

"There was no choice to be made." She countered. I was again struck by how bright her aura was. "I had to help. He didn't deserve that kind of treatment. I can't imagine how Adrian's put up with that his whole life. And would you believe that what worried Adrian the most was that I would think less of him?"

"Actually," I said softly, "I can very much believe that." Because while Sydney's affection for Adrian was quite surprising, it's been obvious to me from the moment I arrived that Adrian thought very highly of Sydney, and her opinion. And especially her opinion of him.

We finally reached the costume store, and had exactly ten minutes to browse the store before it closed. Sydney went off immediately, knowing exactly what she was looking for. Of course she did. That girl was Adrian's opposite. Where he ran on impulse and passion, she was careful to plan everything out before taking action, considering all the variables. What was the saying again?

Oh yeah. Opposites attract.

I browsed the store aimlessly for a little while, until finally the store closed and we were kicked out. I found Sydney and we left the store.

"Did you get a costume?" I asked as we were leaving. She had no package with her, but the store did rentals as well, so I made no assumptions.

"Weirdly, yes," She said, looking slightly dazed. "But not from there."

We strolled leisurely back to restaurant, to find Dimitri, who apparently hadn't finished his call soon enough to come find us. As we did, Sydney's quickly recapped her meeting with Lia DiStephano and the designer's offer to make her and Jill dresses. I found it funny how this designer was so set on getting Jill to model, and still managed to go about it all wrong. This was bribery, and Sydney knew it, but if these dresses were free, why turn them down? It's the designer's loss.

"Well, don't knock it." I told her, not managing to keep the amusement off my face. "If a designer wants to make you something, you're not obliged to give her anything else." I smiled. "Maybe she could help me out with bridesmaid dresses." As soon as I knew who all my bridesmaids were going to be. Jill is invited, and that seriously limits who can attend the wedding. I don't really mind, but it makes little details like bridesmaids a little difficult to deal with. Actually, I was kind of hoping that Sydney would be a bridesmaid, but I hadn't talked to her about it. It would probably get her in trouble with the Alchemists, anyways.

Sydney looked thoughtful. "Lia _does_ make amazing things." She admitted. "But I don't know if we should encourage her."

Good point. "Fair enough," I said. "Maybe one of these days, you'll help me look for dresses. You've got a really good sense of-"

A small noise reached my ears, the sound of a few feet crunching on the dead grass. I turned toward the noise, which was emanating from the churchyard nearby. And a few dark figures emerged. Fear coursed through me, adrenaline suddenly running high. But I'm a Moroi now, and that one second notice wasn't enough to react. Before I could really process what was happening, four figures had charged them. I felt myself being pinned to the ground, and my head smacked against the ground- hard. The world reeled for a couple seconds, and my head began to pound. But the thought of a concussion quickly faded from my mind, as the cold tip of something sharp was suddenly positioned over my neck. I barely heard the words of the sword-weilder, too caught up in my fear to properly hear.

"Time to go back to hell." He said, and he raised the sword.

This is it, I thought. After everything I've been through, the insanity of spirit, the years as a Strigoi, the beauty of restoration, the joy of true love. It was all about to go away, everything I'd worked for, my second chance-

My trail of thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a piercing scream for help, and after a moment, I realised it must be Sydney. They must have her pinned, too, I thought. Bless you, Sydney. Her screams had caused the guy wielding the sword to pause, and one of the men holding her even flinched. It wasn't enough for me to break free, but it offered a weird sort of satisfaction, making these attackers seem a little more human.

"We need to go!" exclaimed one of the men who held me down. "Someone will come."

"This'll only take a second." Growled the man with the sword. "We need to rid the world of this evil." He raised his sword again, and my fear rose again, peaking higher than it had ever reached before. The fear subsided, however, when the sound of pounding feet reached my ears. That was the sound of someone rushing to the rescue.

Sure enough, the sounds of a battle suddenly filled the alleyway, and the guy with the sword was suddenly gone, having been kicked away. One of the guys holding me turned tail and ran, which would have made me laugh in any other circumstance. The other guy turned away from me to fight the new threat, which I realised must be Dimitri. This freed me, however, and I took the opportunity to get to my feet and rush over to Sydney. On normal circumstances, I never would have considered invading the personal space of an Alchemist, but things were understandable different, and we both threw our arms around each other once I'd reached her side. Sydney continued to watch the fight, but I looked away. I didn't want to look at the men who had nearly taken my life, even if it was to watch their butts get kicked.

Finally, Dimitri managed to dispatch the last of them. He didn't pursue, and I hadn't expected him to. Instead, he turned to us, a slightly panicked look in his eyes. Basic guardian instinct, taking over. "Are you okay?"

I gave a quick nod, despite my head throbbing in protest of being smacked against the ground. Once Sydney also managed a weak nod, he put a hand on each of our shoulders and began to steer us away. "Let's get out of here."

"Wait." Sydney said, moving in the direction of the churchyard. I was momentarily confused, until I realised what she was looking for. "We should take the sword." Ah, yes. How very Alchemist. Apparently, guardians aren't the only ones who have base instincts that take over in times of danger. Dimitri went to pick up the sword, and I made a point of standing on the side of Dimitri that was furthest away from the sword. I had a very sudden and great dislike of long, sharp objects.

Dimitri took us to Adrian's apartment, seeing as it was much closer than Clarence's place. I made no effort to talk, and instead put all my concentration into calming down. It wasn't the first life-threatening situation I'd been in, after all. I'd made considerable progress by the time we were knocking on Adrian's door.

Thankfully, Adrian wasn't so drunk that he couldn't open the door, and he actually seemed pretty stable on his feet when he greeted us.

"What… what's going on?" None of us answered, and Dimitri simply ushered us inside. Adrian gave us all a quick look, finally resting his gaze on Sydney. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Dimitri gave Sydney and I a once-over, making sure we didn't have any injuries. I admitted to my headache, though I wasn't particularly worried. Spirit users healed fast. Sydney had a scrape on her cheek, and Dimitri turned her cheek toward him so he could see it properly. "A little scraped." He declared. "Not serious, but you should clean it." Sydney's hand flew up to her cheek, and seemed genuinely shocked to find blood there. I could see her shaking from where I sat, and I felt pity for her. She probably hadn't been in many situations like that. It was probably much more shocking for her than it was for me.

"What happened?" Adrian asked again.

Dimitri held up the sword the take a closer look. "Something a little more serious than a mugging, I think." He said.

I went over to the couch and sat down. "I'd say so." I said, surprised at how calm I managed to keep my voice. I touched the tender spot on the back of my head and winced. "Particularly since they called me a creature of evil before you showed up." Perhaps not in so many words, but the implication had been there. I was a vampire, though, so the insult didn't bother me the way other insults would.

"Dimitri arched his eyebrow. "They did?" He examined the sword further, and then noticed Sydney was moving for the sword. He handed it to her. She took it, careful of the blade, and examined the hilt, which had all sorts of markings on it.

"Do these mean something to you?" Dimitri asked, curious.

"These are old Alchemy symbols." She explained. "From the middle ages, back when our group was just a bunch of medieval scientists trying to turn lead into gold." I could tell from the way she was telling this to us that this is something she'd heard herself a thousand times over. She tapped the largest symbol. "This is actually the symbol for gold. This other one is silver. These four triangle things are the basic elements- earth, air, water, and fire. And these… Mars and Jupiter, which tie into iron and tin. Maybe the sword's composition?" She frowned and studied the sword further. "No gold or silver actually in it, though. Their symbols can also refer to the sun and moon. Maybe these aren't physical at all. I don't know." She handed the sword back to Dimitri, at which point I took it from him, studying the symbols she had pointed out. "So, are you saying this is an Alchemist weapon?" That's strange. I thought people were beyond wielding swords.

She shook her head. "Alchemists would never use something like this. Guns are easier. And the symbols are archaic. We use the periodic table now. Easier to write Au for gold instead of drawing that sun symbol."

"Is there any reason these would be on a weapon? Some greater symbolism or meaning?" Dimitri inquired.

"Well, again, if you go back, the sun and gold were the most important to the ancient alchemists. They revolved around this whole idea of light and clarity." Sydney said. She brought her hand up to her cheek, the one with the golden lily. "Those things are still important in some ways- it's why we use this gold ink. Aside from the benefits, the gold marks us as… pure. Sanctified. Part of a holy cause." I wondered for a moment if she really believed that. "But on a sword… I don't know. If whoever did this was going off the same symbolism, then maybe the sword is sanctified." She grimaced. "Or maybe its owners feel it's serving some kind of holy duty."

"Who were these guys anyway?" Adrian asked, still with most of his attention on Sydney. "Do you think Jill's at risk?" A smile tugged at my lips. He could put on that devil-may-care attitude as much as he wants, but he really did care.

"They knew about vampires. But they were human," Dimitri said.

"Even I could tell that." Sydney agreed. It sounded like the admission pained her. "The one was pretty tall, but he was no Moroi."

Dimitri's face grew even grimmer. "I've never heard of anything like this- mainly because most humans don't know about Moroi. Aside from the Alchemists."

Sydney gave him a sharp look, and it occurred to me that Dimitri's statement might have seemed accusatory. "This has nothing to do with us." Sydney said. "I told you, swords aren't our style. Neither are attacks."

I placed the sword on the table, not wanting to hold it anymore. "No one's making accusations about anyone." I said, to make sure that it was clear. "I assume it's an issue you'll both want to bring up to your groups." That was addressed to Dimitri and Sydney. They both nodded. "Although," I added, looking back at the sword. "I think we're overlooking a key point here. They were treating me like a Strigoi. A sword's not the easiest way to kill someone. There'd have to be a reason."

"It's the only way a human could kill a Strigoi, too," Sydney murmured. "Humans can't charm a silver stake. I suppose they could set you on fire, but that's not practical in an alley." Of course. When she put it like that, it was obvious. I almost felt silly for asking in the first place.

A few minutes of silence followed. At last, I sighed, and said "I don't think we're going to get anywhere tonight, not without talking to others." I turned to Sydney. "Do you want me to heal that?"

It took Sydney a moment to realise I was talking to her. When she did, her hand flew to her cheek again, and I saw a bit of fear flash through her aura. Of course, I'd almost forgotten. I felt bad for even asking. "No." she finally said. "It'll heal fast on its own. I'll go clean it before I go." She turned and walked toward the bathroom. After a few seconds, Adrian followed, worry on his face and his aura shining bright. I sighed.

I turned to Dimitri and was about to suggest he call the guardians when I caught the look on his face. He was looking in the direction the others had retreated, a look of intrigue on his face. You didn't have to be a spirit user to notice the chemistry between those two. He glanced at me, then back in the direction of the bathroom.

"That's going to cause problems." He said. He knew he didn't have to clarify what he was talking about.

I gave him a small smile. "Yes it is." I said. "But it's worth it, in the end."

This brought a smile to Dimitri's lips.

"Yes." He said. "I suppose it is."


	2. Jill

**Okay, so I guess I lied. I'm not up to ten reviews yet, but I just had to update, I was so excited about this chapter! It's from Jill's point of view, from the time when Micah first kissed her and her conversation with Sydney afterwards. **

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bloodlines. **

"No… no… no… No!"

I was rummaging through my piles of clothes, desperately looking for something appropriate to wear. The problem was, my wardrobe was limited, because of the fast departure from court. So here I was, a half-hour away from my date, frantically sorting through what I had in an effort to find something, _anything_ that could be deemed date-worthy. Stupid assassins. It was easy to blame them for all my problems.

"I don't get what the problem is. What do clothes have to do with dating?"

I sighed, turning to my roommate in exasperation. Angeline was a great friend, really, but she also had grown up in a society of savages. Well, not savages, per say, that was just mean. But they weren't exactly civilized, either, which meant that Angeline was about as socially inept as Sydney. And that was no small feat.

"Clothes have everything to do with dating." I informed her, turning back to my pile of clothes. "They give the person you're going out with an inner glimpse of your personality. What you wear says something about the kind of person you are." I noted, dryly, that I was sounding suspiciously like Julia.

Angeline was still confused. "But Micah already knows who you are. So why bother?" She said.

Very good point. "True." I admitted. "But I still want to look nice." That, and this was technically my first real date with Micah. I mean, we hung out all the time together at school, and we'd gone out with a group of friends a couple of times, but it had never been just the two of us, on an actual date. We probably wouldn't be going out tonight, either, if it wasn't within a mile radius of campus grounds. I'd promised Eddie to keep my phone on at all times, ready to text him if I saw so much as a suspicious character walking down the street. He worried so much. It was sweet, even though I knew it had more to do with his guardian training than anything else.

Finally, I managed to pull out an outfit that seemed appropriate for this date; a green tang-top that flowed in the wind, and a pair of dark jeans. It wasn't the most ideal dating attire for me, but it would do. The green matched my eyes perfectly.

I proceeded to doing my hair and makeup. I applied my makeup expertly, in a way that brings out my features and manages to make me look less sickly and pale. It was one thing I hated about being a Moroi. The paleness of my skin was such a contrast to the healthy glow of human and dhampir skin. It especially stood out in a group of humans.

My hair was a different matter. I could never really decide which was the best way to style it. I considered trying to straighten it, a style that made me look older, but I didn't have the time. Wearing it up wasn't an option, not with the outfit I'd picked out. I finally decided to just leave it in its natural curly state, and tossed some hair product into it to make sure it didn't look messy.

I dashed out of the bathroom, knowing that I only had about five minutes to meet Micah down in the lobby. Angeline looked up from her homework, a frown on her face. I recognised the look; she got it whenever she was trying to do something that she had never even heard of before. I knew it could be tough on her sometimes, all the work she had to do now that required brain power and no physical strength. I knew she preferred things that required action.

"You… You're okay with that?" I asked her, my hand resting on the doorknob. I nodded at her work. "You don't need any help? Because I could… you know… if you need it…" My voice trailed off.

Angeline's eyes went wide. "Oh! Oh, no. I'll get through it. You just have a fun time." She said with a smile. "Go on, or you'll be late."

Oh gosh, she was right. I gave her one last fleeting smile before darting out of the room and down the stairs. I prayed that Micah hadn't decided to show up early. I hated to keep people waiting. Especially when dates were involved.

Someone decided to answer my prayer, apparently, because Micah was only just entering the lobby when I made it downstairs. He noticed me right away and smiled, which caused butterflies to start fluttering in my stomach. It wasn't quite what I had felt for… Lee… but it was still an obvious sign of affection, which was comforting. I knew the others didn't approve of my relationship with Micah, Sydney in particular, and I was always questioning whether or not it was worth it.

All thoughts of doubt vanished from my mind as I walked over to my sort-of boyfriend. "Hey." He said, still smiling. He gave me an admiring look, and I felt a blush creep onto my cheeks. So he liked my wardrobe choice, after all. "You ready to go?"

"Yep!" I said, feeling enthusiastic. It'd be nice to spend some time off campus with just Micah. I counted my lucky stars that I wasn't being chaperoned tonight. It had been a close one.

Micah was an absolute gentleman when it came to dating courtesy. He opened the door to his car for me when we reached it, and I climbed in, smiling. He quickly darted around to the driver's side and started the car, pulling out of the parking lot. We started up our usual banter, something I was so accustom to by now that I could let my mind wander while keeping up the conversation.

I wondered, for a moment, if Sydney's dates went anything like this. Did her boyfriend open the door to the car for her? Did she get butterflies in her stomach? Did she have this easy ability to talk with him while letting her mind wander?

I abruptly shook the thoughts out of my head. They weren't mine, after all. Well, they were, but the emotion behind them was not my own. Adrian had spent a lot of his time thinking about Sydney and her boyfriend. Sometimes, the thought simply amused him, like it did the rest of us. Other times, he was filled with a strange longing and bitterness he couldn't quite place. As a thinking observer to the situation with unusual insight, it was beyond obvious to me that Adrian's feelings for Sydney went beyond friendship. Neither of them knew it yet, though. And it was frustrating for me. I looked forward in anticipation to the day I'll finally learn to keep Adrian out of my head.

We finally arrived at the little restaurant. It was an interesting cross between a fast food joint and a real restaurant. You basically went in and sat down at a table, and sooner or later a waiter would come around to greet you and take orders. The place did take-out, as well, but that fact had no relevance.

We sat down at a table for two, which we found in the corner of the restaurant. It was a couple minutes before the waiter came over and took our orders. I went for the spaghetti. Micah was impressed.

"With such an amazing figure, I thought you'd only eat the healthiest food." He joked lightly.

I smiled back. "Nope. I'm naturally skinny. Me and my other brother, Adrian. Sydney's the picky one in the family. She's as obsessive about calories as she is about organising things." Micah laughed, and though I smiled, I was a bit uneasy. It was actually Adrian who had noticed this, and it worried him. When I thought about it myself, it did seem a bit unhealthy. But what did I know about weight gain? For all I tried, it was physically impossible for a Moroi to gain enough weight to get curves. I felt like a twig.

"You're family's really unique." Micah noted, still smiling. "You really don't look much like each other, or act like each other, but you're a tight-knit family regardless. It's pretty admirable."

I felt fondness swirling in my chest as I thought about the people who were posing as my family. They really were like my family, I decided. They cared the way a family should, the way my real family didn't seem to. I banished the thought the second it entered my head. After all, it wasn't my parents I was thinking about. It was Lissa.

"Yeah," I said, shaking away the sobering thoughts of my life back at court. "I don't know what I'd do without them." And that was the truth.

We quickly switched to an easier topic, and we spent the rest of the night at the restaurant talking about random teenage things, as Adrian would call it. The more we talked, the happier I felt, and I knew that I had needed this date. It was an excellent distraction from Adrian's depressing thoughts, not to mention my own sobering worries about assassins sneaking up on me at night and stabbing me in the chest. The thought surfaced in my mind more times than I care to admit.

Of course, I was only so good at keeping Adrian out of my mind, and he intruded on my thoughts a couple times throughout the date. He was painting, I knew, trying to express his jumble of emotions that was his affection for Sydney Sage. I made a mental note to call him later and check up on him. Talking things out usually helped clear Adrian's head a bit and, subsequently, mine.

My date finally ended with a walk in the park. We strolled along the stone path for a little while, hand in hand, laughing and smiling. Eventually, we found a nice wooden bench and sat down, and Micah started pointing out stars and constellations, even though most were still hidden by the small remains of the sun's light.

I scanned the sky, trying to find something up there that Micah hadn't already spotted, which wasn't easy because he'd covered most of the sky. Finally, I found it, shining bright on the horizon, still touched by the light of the sun.

"What about that one?" I asked, pointing it out.

"Ah," Micah said, using his scientific observer voice that made me laugh. "That, my pupil, is not a star at all, but the planet we know as Venus."

I had to cover my mouth to stop the giggles. "Do you know what the name means?" I asked. I certainly did. Sydney had told us all about it a few nights ago. I was hoping this would stump him. I was wrong.

"The planets were all named after Roman gods." Micah said, still using his science voice. "That planet in particular is named after the roman goddess of love. It's the only planet in the sky named after a woman." He smiled triumphantly, and I stuck my tongue out at him playfully. We both laughed.

After a few moments, Micah's expression softened into something more affectionate. He gazed at me fondly, and I found myself leaning toward him in response, my own feelings stirring in my chest. It wasn't love, I knew, but it wasn't simply friendly, either.

The next thing I knew, Micah had leaned in and pressed his lips against mine. For a moment, my eyes widened, then they closed and I leaned into the kiss. His hand trailed up my back, leaving a tingling sensation where it touched. I put my arms around him, running my fingers through his hair. I felt good. Really good.

Then a horrible thought occurred to me.

_What will I do if he notices my fangs?_

A shiver of fear and unease suddenly crept up my spine. I could hide my fangs while talking and laughing no problem. The Moroi are taught to do that from the time we can talk. But kissing? It was too intimate. He was centimeters away from discovering the truth and creating a heap load of problems, problems that Sydney would likely have to fix.

So I was the one who ended up pulling away from the kiss, gently, mind you. Despite my unease, I still smiled at him. He was beaming back, clearly in a state of bliss. Regardless, I wracked my brain for some explanation as to why I pulled away. Thankfully, a reason came quickly.

"Curfew?" I said, like a question. This brought Micah back down to reality.

"Right." He said. Still grinning, he got up and offered his hand to me. I took it gently and we headed back to the car hand in hand.

Micah continued our usual conversation on the way back to Amberwood, and though I smiled and laughed with him, inside, I was working hard to calm myself down. I was so relieved he hadn't noticed anything, that I had managed to pull that off without causing problems with my family or with Micah. But still, a traitorous voice in my head kept saying _what are you going to do next time? You can't hide your fangs forever. _

Needless to say, as soon as Micah dropped me off in front of my dorm, my mood plummeted. My thoughts turned troubled, the only interruption being a surge of excitement from Adrian that pulled me into his head for a moment, letting me know that Adrian was going to learn self-defence with Sydney. I was back in my head within seconds. The thought of Adrian punching and kicking lightened my mood for a second, but my troubled thoughts returned pretty quick.

Was I going to have to end things with Micah? I didn't want to, but if that kiss had been any deeper… well, I didn't really want to think about it. Maybe the others were right. Maybe human-vampire dating was a bad idea.

I was so caught up in my own thoughts that I didn't see Sydney when she entered the dorm. It was only when she yelled "Hey! Jill?" Did I notice her there. I stopped walking, halfway through the lobby. I went over to her.

"Oh, hey." I said. "Were you out with your boyfriend?"

Sydney winced. "Not sure I'd call him that yet."

I'm going to get Julia to write a book on dating and give it to Sydney. "How many times have you gone out?"

"Four."

"He's taking you to the dance?"

"I'm meeting him there."

She seemed to be growing more uncomfortable by the second. I fought down a smile, and shrugged instead. "Sounds like a boyfriend to me."

"Sounds like you're quoting something from Kristin and Julia's dating guidebook." She shot back.

Kristin and Julia's dating guidebook. That would be the perfect title. We'd give it to Sydney as a Christmas present. The image of the look on Sydney's face as she'd be opening the present brought a smile to my face, but my dark mood chased it away pretty quickly. "I think it's just common sense." I pointed out to her.

She seemed to be studying me for a second, and it occurred to me that she might've picked up on my mood. "Are you okay? You looked like something was bothering you." So she did pick up on my mood. That wasn't too surprising. What she said next was. "Is it… is it Adrian? Is he still upset." Worry crossed her face, and for a moment I was pretty sure she was more worried about Adrian than she was for me. Hmm. Interesting.

"No." I told her after a moment. Then I reconsidered. "I mean, well, yes. But he's a little better. He's excited about learning self-defence with you."

"Excited?" She asked. I realised that excitement was a bit of a strong reaction, if you weren't in on his affection for Sydney, so I quickly jumped in with a different excuse.

"It's a distraction. And a distraction's the best thing for him in these moods." Mentally, at least. When most of your distractions are alcoholic, it's physically the worst thing for you. "He is still upset, though. He's still depressed over his dad." I felt a little uncomfortable talking about the incident with his dad, mainly because I witnessed the whole thing. Curse this bond

A look of guilt crossed Sydney's face. "I shouldn't have taken him to San Diego," She murmured. "If I'd refused, he wouldn't have been able to get there."

Knowing how stubborn Adrian is? Unlikely. I figured this wouldn't be the best way to answer her, though, so I tried to be a bit more diplomatic. "I don't know. I think he would've found a way, with or without you. What happened between them was going to happen eventually." I said.

"I just feel terrible seeing Adrian like this." Sydney said. I knew she meant it, too, which made her statement all the more intriguing.

"These moods come and go for him. Always have." I said, trying to reassure her. "He's laid off the drinking a little bit- for my sake. But then that just opens him up for…" I groped for the right words, but didn't manage to find any. "Well, it's hard to explain. You know how spirit drives people insane? When he's down like this and sober, it makes him more vulnerable."

"Are you saying Adrian's going crazy?" Sydney said. It was a good question, one that, despite my insight, I didn't really know the answer to.

"No, not exactly." I finally decided, pursing my lips as I mulled it over in my mind. "He just gets a little scattered… weird. You'll know it when you see it. He kind of makes sense but kind of not. Gets dreamy and rambles. But not the way I do. It's got like a- I don't know- mystical feel. But it's not actually magical. It's just him kind of… losing it temporarily. It never lasts, and, like I said, you'll know it when you see it." Thinking about it, I hadn't actually seen him like that in a while. Maybe it was leaking into me and I didn't even know it…

"I think I might have…" Sydney said, caught up in a memory. This was relieving. I lived in fear of catching Adrian's insanity, even though I hated the thought of him going crazy.

"Girls?" A new voice spoke, and we both looked over to Mrs. Weathers, who was sitting at her desk. "you need to get to your rooms."

We nodded obediently and made our way up the stairs. When we reached my floor, Sydney stopped me before I could leave.

"Hey- if Adrian's not the problem, than what was bothering you when you came in? Is everything okay?"

"Huh? Oh, that." My memories from earlier that evening returned, and I felt my cheeks go red. "Yeah. I guess. I don't know. Micah… um, well, he kissed me tonight. For the first time. And I guess I was just kind of surprised at how I felt about it." The anxiety, the fear…

Sydney jumped in with questions. "What do you mean? Did it feel a lot less exciting than you expected? Like you were just touching someone's lips? Like you were kissing a relative?"

What in the world? I gave her a puzzled look. "No. That's crazy. Why would you think that?"

"Um, just guessing." Sydney said. A faint red touched her cheeks, giving me the sense that she wasn't being truthful. I let it drop, though, and went on with my story.

"It was great, actually." I said, thinking back to the moment. "Well, almost. I couldn't quite get into it as much as I wanted because I was worried about my fangs. It's easy to hide them talking and smiling. But not while kissing. And all I kept thinking was 'What am I going to say if he notices?' And then I started thinking about what you and everyone else said. About how this thing with Micah isn't a good idea and how I can't keep things hands-off forever. I like him. I like him a lot. But not enough to risk exposing the Moroi… or endanger Lissa." Things may be awkward between me and Lissa but, well, I still cared about her. We were friends before the whole queen ordeal. Sydney looked proud, and a little bit relieved. My chest clenched up on seeing that pride.

"That's a noble attitude." She said.

"I guess." I said, steering my thoughts back to Micah. "I don't want to end things yet, though. Micah's so nice… and I love all the friends I've made being with him. I guess I'll just see what happens… but it's hard. It's a wake-up call." I sighed and made my way into my room, feeling sad.

Going into the room, I found Angeline still on her bed. She grinned at me sheepishly and showed me the work page that she'd been working on earlier, still incomplete. I rolled my eyes with a bit of a smile. Sitting down together, we managed to finish the work in less than fifteen minutes, mainly because I didn't have Sydney's qualms about simply giving the answer.

"I still don't get why this is important." Angeline said, as she scribbled down the last answer on her sheet. "Kissing boys is much more fun than this, and just as useful."

That made me laugh, but it also brought back Sydney's earlier comment on kissing boys. It was almost as if… almost as if that's what she'd experienced. But this was Sydney Sage, after all. I'd be surprised if she'd even figured out holding hands yet.

"I know how you feel about kissing boys." I said to Angeline, who'd been sitting there waiting for an answer. She smiled mischievously at me, and it was in a somewhat lighter mood that I went to bed.

Surely, she had been guessing, I finally decided. If that's what it felt like to her, than she wouldn't still be dating that guy whose name I can never remember. Probably.

But still, the strange words stuck, and all I could think about was the way Sydney seemed to care about Adrian, and how he brightens up so much when she smiles at him.

**Well, that was fun. Anyways, some of you have suggested I write something from Dimitri's point of view. I'm not gonna do that for a couple reasons. One, there's no awesome scene in the book that I could recreate from Dimitri's point of view, because he wasn't there. Two, Dimitri is like a foreign creature to me, and getting into his head is virtually impossible for me. Besides, we've had so much of him in VA. **

**The next one is, however, from Adrian's point of view, on the night of the Halloween dance. It'll probably take a little while to write, but I have high hopes! **

**P.S. Is it bad that every time Adrian goes off on a spirit rant, I can understand him perfectly? **

**P.P.S. check out the song 'Boys like you' by 360. It is 100 percent Sydrian. It's almost creepy. **


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